Clean Slate
by PiggyGirl
Summary: After Bane and Talia's plan fails, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle put their lives back together. Chapter 4 is now up!
1. Chapter 1

**Clean Slate**

**Chapter One: Everything **

Selina Kyle stood far away from Wayne Manor, underneath a tree, watching the funeral. She watched as the few who knew Batman's true identity, bury Bruce Wayne. She had thought for sure that he made some great escape at the last minute. But it had been days and there was no sign of him. She couldn't help but miss him. He was the only one who understood everything about her. And he was the only one with the clean slate, which now, she would never have.

The small funeral party began to disperse and Selina turned away. She slowly made her way back to her apartment. In the uprising she had lost everything to other prisoners and looters, including her former roommate. Her apartment was almost bare now, having only a few chairs, a table and her bed. She had decided to give up thieving in an attempt for her own clean slate. When she got home, she threw her keys on the ground, kicked off her shoes, and pulled her long brown hair out of the bun and let it lay loose around her shoulders. She went into the kitchen, poured herself a cup of coffee, and went back into her room where someone was waiting for her.

Bruce Wayne was nonchalantly sitting on her bed twirling a pearl necklace around his fingers. Selina stumbled back slightly and dropped her coffee cup on the ground where it shattered at her feet. "Bruce…" she whispered. She was at a loss for words.

Bruce smiled and got up off the bed and walked toward her. "I never got to give these back," he said as he reached forward to clasp it around her neck. "It really does look great on you." He smiled at her shocked expression.

"How…" she asked, "I saw you blow up!" Bruce laughed quietly and smiled back at her.

"You didn't think I left the auto pilot broken did you?" he said and laughed. Selina was still shocked. She stood and stared at him. She had decided that he was dead only a few hours ago, thinking his window for return had closed, and accepted it. But here he was, standing before her, not only alive, but apparently unscathed. She was silent for a long time as she stared at him, trying to take it in. "What's wrong?" Bruce asked, starting to worry about how long her silence lasted.

"Nothing," Selina said as she pushed her hair behind her ears, "I'm just so shocked…" Tears started welling up in her eyes. She was mortified by this and tried to look away but Bruce found her eyes.

"Hey," he said and took her face in his hands, "It's okay. I'm okay."

"I know," she said and pushed the tears back, "I know, I'm being stupid." Bruce looked into her eyes and Selina felt uncomfortable and looked away. "Why are you here anyway? Does anyone else know you're alive?"

"Alfred will," he said, "Blake will, Fox probably does. But no, no one else."

"Then why me?" she asked, "I wasn't exactly your closest friend or anything."

"You're the only one who gets it," he said and he came closer to her. "And I had to bring you this." He held out a flash drive, "I promised you a clean slate. And looks like I'm going to need one now too."

"You're not going to go back?" she asked as she eyed the flash drive.

"I can't," he said, "They think Batman is dead. No matter how much I would like to."

"Why would you like to?" Selina said as she snatched the flash drive from him, "You have literally given them everything now. You died for them. You don't owe them anything."

"I know," he said, "That's why I'm not going back. That's why I'm here, to start over. With you."

Before she could respond he had leaned down and kissed her. She dropped the flash drive and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer and kissed her harder. Selina pulled away slightly and smiled up at him.

"I'm glad you're not dead," she whispered. Bruce laughed quietly before pulling her back into him for another kiss.

XXX

Bruce ran his fingers lightly over Selina's bare back and she smiled. She rolled over to face him and he smiled back at her. "So what's next for the Batman?" she asked as she put her hand on his chest. Bruce laughed and took her hand in his.

"The Batman is retired forever," he said, "My plan, which I hope you will join me on, is to use the clean slate and move far away to start a whole new life."

"Move somewhere like where?" she asked, "Somewhere exotic."

"I was thinking somewhere like Italy," Bruce said and kissed her hand. "We can delete Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne forever and then move to a small town in Italy."

"Sounds perfect," she said and smiled, "What about Alfred? Are you going to see him before this?"

"No," Bruce said and looked down, "I let him down…maybe I'll see him someday but for now, I think it's best we keep our distance from everyone, especially Gotham."

"So when do you want to start these new lives of ours?" Selina asked.

"As soon as possible," he said and kissed her forehead, "But we can stay here for a little while longer." Selina smiled as he leaned down to kiss her again.

Tomorrow, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle would officially be gone forever.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is short! It felt like a good stopping point and I didn't want to ramble! **

**Chapter Two: Rebecca and Ben **

Selina sat in front of her computer with the clean start flash drive in her hand. She twirled it around her fingers as she stared at it. She held in her hands the key to her future. A future that could be happier and brighter than her life as Selina Kyle. That life was a blur of drunk parents, death, and poverty. After her parents had drank themselves into a stupor, she ran away at the age of 15. She then lived on the street for years before finally becoming a thief for some darker people. From there, she got involved in the wrong crowds and ended up with a record that would haunt her forever. At least, it would haunt Selina Kyle forever. With this program, that life could be erased and she could create a new and better one.

She smiled at this thought and plugged the flash drive into her computer. She turned back toward her bed where Bruce was still sleeping and smiled at him. When the program began starting up, she pulled her eyes away from him and back towards the computer.

"You thought you'd just sneak into the program without me," Bruce whispered in her ear suddenly. But she didn't jump, she smiled slyly.

"Old habits die hard sweetie," she whispered as she touched the pearl necklace around her neck. When she turned back to the screen a passcode popped up on the computer monitor.

"Tell me about it," he whispered again and laughed.

"Is this one uncrackable too?" she teased and he laughed and shook his head. He leaned over her and typed in the passcode.

"Do you want to do this now?" he asked.

"I already booked our flight to Italy," she said and handed him the tickets, "We leave tonight."

"So soon?" Bruce asked truly surprised.

"There's nothing left for us here," Selina said. "The sooner we start our new lives, the better." Selina didn't have to say anything else. Bruce could tell it was time.

He started the program and a few seconds later and window popped up, asking for a name. "You first?" he asked and she nodded a little too excitedly. He typed in the name 'Selina Kyle' into the window and hit enter. A few seconds later a success message popped up.

"Done," he said, "Selina Kyle is officially erased from history."

"Your turn," she said as she took the keyboard from him and typed in the name 'Bruce Wayne' and hit enter. A few seconds later another success message popped up. "And done," she said.

"We are both officially erased," Bruce said. Selina smiled, looking genuinely happy for the first time in years. She threw her arms around Bruce's neck and kissed him hard.

XXX

Hours later, Selina was throwing what few items she had left into her suitcase. Bruce sat next to her suitcase on the bed, watching her. He had no belongings to pack anymore. But he watched her with a smile. "What?" she asked playfully and hit him with a shirt. "Stop staring at me."

"I'm just excited," he said, "You are going to love Italy. It's beautiful. We might even run into Alfred there…"

"Is that why you picked it?" she asked, "To see him again?"

"Eventually I want him to see me," he said, "With you and happy. I don't want him to think he failed me."

Selina smiled as she closed her suitcase, knowing that this had been his plan all along, and threw it onto the floor. She sat down next to Bruce and looked around the apartment. "So who are you going to be?" she asked, "Once we move there? We'll have to change our names since we have none."

"Ben Moore," he said quickly and she raised her eyebrows at him, "I've been thinking about it a little," he said and laughed, "It was the most random thing I could come up with that had no ties to my old life."

"And what does this Ben Moore do for a living?" she asked.

"Not sure," he said, "Hadn't really thought that far yet."

"Oh come on," she said, "What's your dream job? Don't tell me its being Batman."

"No," he said and laughed. He thought about it again. He never really truly thought about what he wanted to do. He knew someday he would own Wayne Enterprises and that was it. Now he could do whatever he wanted. "Teaching might be interesting…" he said suddenly and Selina laughed.

"You just always have to help someone don't you?" she asked and he laughed.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Rebecca Thompson," she said and smiled, "And I'll be something really powerful like a CEO of a company or something."

"You think you can get CEO that quickly?" he asked and he smiled.

"I'll work my way there," she said and laughed.

"Alright then Rebecca," he said and stood up. He offered her his hand and said, "You ready to leave Gotham forever?" She took his hand and smiled.

"Never been more ready," she whispered. He smiled, kissed her quickly and they left the apartment, without looking back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Watched **

It was harder for them to get out of the building, let alone Gotham, than either of them anticipated. Bruce couldn't be seen by anyone who would recognize him as Bruce Wayne, who was supposed to be dead. For now, he was hiding out in the lobby of Selina's apartment building.

"We have to leave," she hissed at him, "We're going to miss the plane!"

"Someone might recognize me," he hissed back.

"You planning on hiding out here forever then?" she said.

"Just until there aren't so many people on the street," he answered.

"Then we'll be here all night! We're going now," she said and grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door and onto the street. He kept his head down and tried not to make eye contact with anyone as she pulled him through the street. Selina hailed a cab and they climbed in, Bruce was now looking around frantically to see if anyone had noticed them. "No one is going to follow us," Selina said and pulled his face back towards her. "Stop worrying so much. We're getting far away from here, and no one will ever catch us." Bruce smiled and kissed her quickly. They broke apart and Bruce smiled widely before turning to the driver.

"Airport please," Bruce said to the cab driver. He nodded and pulled out away from the sidewalk and headed down the street. Soon after, another car pulled out and followed them down the road. Bruce was still kissing Selina and didn't notice as the car continued to follow them.

XXX

After sneaking through the airport, Bruce and Selina were finally on the plane. Bruce had forced their way to the back of the plane, convinced that less people would see them there. He was still craning his neck to watch the passengers boarding the plane to make sure no one was looking their way. "Would you relax?" Selina said and pulled him down into his seat, "No on will recognize you here."

"I already had to use a fake I.D. and I swear they looked at me suspiciously. I just want to make sure we weren't followed. I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched," he said and started looking around again. Selina laughed and rolled her eyes. Once the plane took off and everyone was in their seats, Bruce started to calm down a little and turned his attention back to Selina. He smiled at her as she took a book out of her bag.

"What?" she asked when she noticed him staring.

"Nothing," Bruce said and smiled. Selina smiled back before turning her attention to her book. A few minutes later, Bruce put a small black box on her tray table in front of her. Selina lowered her book and looked at it. "What's that?" she asked knowingly, trying not to smile.

"My mother's engagement ring," he said and smiled, "You didn't think I went back just for the pearls did you?" he asked as he reached up and traced the necklace with his finger.

"And why is it here?" she asked as she put her book down in her lap.

"When we land, I want to get married," Bruce said. Selina tried not to smile as widely as she knew she was as she picked up the little black box.

"You sure this wasn't meant for Rachel?" she asked as she opened it.

"I love you more," he said. Selina smiled even wider as she took the ring out of the box and placed it on her ring finger.

"I guess I love you too," she said and smiled as she admired the ring. Bruce smiled and kissed her.

While they were lost in this moment for the rest of the plane ride, they didn't noticed the man at the front of the plane, watching them.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: SORRY GUYS. I started calling Alfred Albert for some reason…. I totally spaced, it was late when I was writing this. IT'S FIXED NOW **

**Chapter Four: Attack**

Selina was sitting at the same coffee shop she sat at everyday after work waiting for her husband. She and Bruce had been living in a small Italian town for almost six months, and been married for three. She was slowly working her way up the ladder at a local corporation in Rome. Bruce owned an orphanage just outside the city, so it always took him a little longer to get their usual meeting spot.

They lived in a small apartment right above that very coffee shop. Even though it was small, it was all they needed. They were also not technically named Bruce and Selina anymore, but Ben and Rebecca. They had never really gotten used to those names though and continued to call each other Bruce and Selina.

She checked her watch and saw that Bruce was almost a half hour late, but that was normal. She hailed the waiter over and ordered their usual. As she sipped her coffee, she looked around the others at the coffee shop.

Some were other regulars, and some were new everyday. There was one man, however, who she saw everyday. He was sitting straight across from her today. Usually he seemed lost in a book, but today he was staring right at her. She looked away quickly and sipped her coffee again. But when she looked back, the man was still staring directly at her. She looked away again as a chill ran down her spine. She couldn't help but think she had seen him before.

"Hey, so sorry I'm late," Bruce suddenly said, snapping Selina out of her thoughts, "As always." She smiled slightly as he kissed her cheek. He hung his jacket on the chair across from her and sat down. He started talking, but Selina was leaning around him trying to get a better look at that man. "Selina?" Bruce said and she snapped her head back towards him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said and waved it off, "I just thought I saw someone we knew, but I guess not." Before Bruce could answer their food arrived and he thought no more of it. But, Selina couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

After they finished eating, they headed up back to their apartment for the night. "I'm going to go shower," Bruce said after he threw off his coat and kicked off his shoes, "I was running after those kids all day." Selina smiled as he leaned down and kissed her.

"I'll pour some wine," she said. He smiled and kissed her again before heading to their bedroom. Selina kicked off her own shoes and headed to the kitchen to pour two glasses of wine. As she put the glasses on the coffee table, there was a knock at the door. When she opened it, she was shocked to see the man from the coffee shop. "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm looking for…Ben," he said as he glanced around the room behind her, "Is he here?"

"He actually just got in the shower," she said, "Can I help you with something?"

"No," he said, "I don't think so." He continued to stare at her and she started to feel uneasy. Selina started to shut the door, but he slammed his arm into it. Selina jumped back, but before she could scream for Bruce and react at all, the man had shoved a cloth in her face, with the unmistakable scent of chloroform. In a few seconds, everything went black.

XXX

When Selina's eyes snapped open, it was completely dark outside. A few hours must have passed. She pulled herself off the ground and stumbled her way to their bedroom. "Bruce," she yelled but there was no answer. When she finally reached their bedroom, it was torn apart. She started to panic. "BRUCE," she yelled louder.

Suddenly the phone rang, making her jump. She trembled as she reached for the phone. "Hello?" she whispered.

"Selina?" Bruce said and Selina's heart soared.

"Bruce?" she asked, "Where are you? Are you alright?"

"Scarecrow," he said, "You have to get out of there now, it's Scarecrow." Before Selina could respond, the line went dead.

"Bruce?" Selina yelled, "Bruce?" When there was no answer, she threw the phone against the wall. She had no idea what any of those words meant and no idea where Bruce was. She started tearing up what was left of their bedroom, looking for anything that would lead her to him. When she found nothing, she threw herself on the floor in rage.

After a few moments, she realized there was one person in Italy who knew more about Bruce than she even did. They had seen him for the first time, only a couple of weeks ago. She ran for the phone, dialed the number, and waited.

"Hello?" a man said on the other line.

"Alfred?" she whispered.

"Yes," the man said, "Who is this?"

"It's Selina," she said, "Selina Wayne." The line was silent for a long time and Selina worried that Alfred had hung up. "Alfred?"

"Yes I'm still here," he said quietly, "What can I do for you Mrs. Wayne?"

"I need help," she said, "Bruce is in trouble."

"Where are you right now?" he said.

"I'm at our apartment, just above that coffee shop we saw you at a few weeks ago," she said.

"I'm on my way," he said and he hung up. Selina put the phone down slowly and tried to control the shaking of her hands.

Apparently they had not left their lives completely behind them. Good thing she had the perfect outfit for the occasion. She pulled herself together and pulled on her old catwoman suit. She had kept it, just in case. When she stepped back and looked at herself in the mirror she had to admit, as worried as she was about Bruce, putting on that leather jumpsuit again was exhilarating. She sat back down on the couch and drank her wine while she waited for Alfred.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Crane **

"His name is Jonathan Crane," Alfred said after Selina had told him what Bruce said on the phone about Scarecrow. "He was a pharmacist in Gotham who worked with Ra's al Ghul about 10 years ago in an attempt to destroy Gotham by releasing a toxin into the water."

"What does he want with Bruce now?" Selina asked in frustration.

"Revenge," Alfred shrugged, showing that he didn't really know. "He's a very deranged man." Before either could say anything else the phone rang again, this time, it was Selina's cell phone. She took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she said.

"If you want to see your husband alive again, you'll do exactly as I say," a husky voice on the other line said.

"Who is this," Selina said angrily, "What do you want from us?"

"Bring his Batman suit to the warehouse just outside town," the husky voice said again.

"What?" Selina said, thoroughly confused.

"You know exactly what I mean," he said, "Bring it by midnight, or he dies." Then the line went dead. Selina closed the phone and looked back towards Alfred.

"I know where they are," she said and jumped up, "And I don't think he has any idea who I am! We can ambush him and I'll keep him distracted while you save Bruce." Selina was excited to get this plan moving and was half way out the door already.

"Wait," he said, "what did he want?"

"He wants Bruce's batman suit," Selina said, "I have no idea why." Alfred smiled and got up off the couch.

"I know why," he said, "It's important for him to get revenge on Batman, not Bruce Wayne. Like I said, he is very deranged."

"Should I bring it then," she asked and closed the front door again.

"Yes," Alfred said, "And I agree that he doesn't know who you are, so play along with him at first, then catch him off guard when I can get to Bruce."

"How will I know when you've found him," she asked as she went to the closet in the living room where she knew Bruce had hidden his Batman suit. But Alfred was ahead of her and handed her an earpiece.

"I figured we'd be needing these," he said with a smile as he and Selina put them in their ears. "Alright, lets get going then. I have a car waiting outside."

XXX

They arrived outside the warehouse less than a half an hour later. "Don't forget to watch out for any chemicals or toxins," Alfred was telling her, "That's his thing. I'll search everywhere around the building for Bruce and talk to you the whole time. Play along with him until we get there. Crane is tough, but not tougher than you and Bruce together."

"What is he has henchmen all over the place," she asked.

"He was never one for that," Alfred said, "Besides, I think we'd be able to see them. If he had any, there would some outside the door." Selina looked back toward the warehouse, and sure enough, there was no on in sight.

"Alright," she said and grabbed the batman suit off the floor of the car. "Let me know as soon as you find him." Alfred nodded. They both got out of the car, and headed toward the warehouse. Alfred snuck around to a side entrance as Selina opened the front door. She stepped inside the pitch-black room, tentatively. After she took a few steps into the room, lights flashed on suddenly throughout the entire warehouse. She shielded her eyes and tried to re focus them.

"Hello Mrs. Wayne," said a voice from the center of the room. She tried refocused her eyes, and saw a man standing there. As the spots began to disappear from her vision, she saw that Bruce was also in the room, tied to a chair with chains behind Crane.

"Bruce is here," she said as quietly as she could.

"What?" Alfred said in her ear.

"Bruce is in the main room," she said again, hoping Crane couldn't hear her. Alfred didn't respond, she assumed he was on his way. "Hello Crane," she said as she stepped closer to the center of the room.

"Ah," he said and he turned to face her, "Your husband has told you about me! That's so nice Bruce!" Selina let her eyes wander to Bruce's face. It was beaten and bloody. She looked away quickly, trying to stay calm. "I see you've brought the suit," he said, "Hand it over." Selina put it on the floor and kicked it toward him. "Great, now if you'll please have a seat," he said as he gestured toward the chair next to Bruce. She looked back at Bruce's face for a sign of what to do, but he gave none. She decided to continue to play along and sat down.

"I'm going to go ahead and tell you why we're here," he said, "You see, I've been following you both since you left Gotham. Batman stopped the destruction of Gotham too many times. I want that city to burn, and the only way that's going to happen, is if the two of you don't exist. Batman and Catwoman cannot exist." Selina froze.

"He knows who I am," Selina said. She could hear Alfred sigh in her ear and Crane's head snapped toward her. He immediately knew she had someone outside. He grabbed her head and ripped the earpiece from her ear, causing her to shriek in pain.

"WHO IS OUTSIDE," he screamed as he shook her heavily, "WHO IS IT?!" His eyes were crazy but Selina said nothing, staying calm. "USELESS," he screamed and slapped her across the face.

"Don't you dare touch my wife," Bruce yelled. Selina was almost relieved to hear his voice. Crane turned his head back toward Bruce and stepped slightly away from Selina.

Selina looked toward Bruce and decided to take action. He knew who she was for sure now anyway. With one swift kick, she knocked him backward. She was fast, but he was faster. As soon as she had pounced on him, he jammed a syringe into her arm. She gasped, as her vision went suddenly blurry. Crane pushed her off of him and laughed.

"Selina," Bruce yelled, "What did you give her?!" Crane answered but his voice sounded distant and Selina couldn't understand what he was saying, and Selina felt herself fall to the ground and everything went black.


End file.
